Nasdaq invests $100 million in Kraken parent Payward at $21 billion valuation

September 10, 2026 at 05:53 PM2 min

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Nasdaq's Ventures arm agreed to invest $100 million in Payward, the parent company of Kraken, as part of an expanded partnership on tokenized equities and market infrastructure. Payward will adopt Nasdaq's market surveillance technology across its trading venues, and the companies plan to launch Nasdaq Equity Tokens in the second quarter of 2027. The investment values Payward at $21 billion.

Key Facts

Nasdaq Ventures will invest $100 million in Payward, valuing the Kraken parent at $21 billion.
Payward will adopt Nasdaq's market surveillance technology across crypto, equities, tokenized equities, futures, and options venues.
Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs) are expected to launch in the second quarter of 2027.
The partnership began in March 2026 with plans for an equities transformation gateway linking regulated markets and blockchain networks.

Investment and Valuation

Nasdaq announced on Thursday that its Ventures arm agreed to invest $100 million in Payward, the parent company of Kraken. The investment values Payward at $21 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The companies are expanding their partnership to bolster work on tokenized equities and market infrastructure.

Technology and Token Launch

Payward will adopt Nasdaq's market surveillance technology across its portfolio of trading venues, including crypto, equities, tokenized equities, futures, and options. The companies are advancing Nasdaq Equity Tokens, or NETs, with an expectation to launch in the second quarter of 2027. Earlier this year, Nasdaq announced plans to develop the framework and connect it with Payward's xStocks ecosystem. Nasdaq said at the time its equity token design and related distributed-ledger services would become operational beginning in the first half of 2027.

Partnership Background

The companies began their partnership in March 2026, when they said they would build an equities transformation gateway linking regulated markets with blockchain networks. Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward, said more than $2 trillion of stock trades run through the U.S. clearing system every day. Nasdaq President Tal Cohen said the expanded relationship reflects the company's conviction that Payward can play a role in building infrastructure that supports capital movement while preserving trust and transparency.